Foundry slip flask



1957- w. J. SPENSLEY FOUNDRY SLIP FLASK Filed March 16, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l FOUNDRY SL IP FLASK Fi led March 1a, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 5, 1937 PATENT orrice FOUNDRY SLIP FLASK William J. Spensley, Dubuque, Iowa, assignor to The Adams Company, Dubuque, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Application March 16,

8 Claims.

This invention relates to slip flasks of the type used for the manufacture of molds in conventional foundry practice.

Among the more important objects of the invention are the provision of a generally improved slip flask having improved means for retaining the sand in the cope wherein a sand strip of improved form is supported between the lower edge of the cope and the upper edge of the drag for movement between an inserted and a withdrawn position and wherein novel means are provided for retaining the sand strip in position and effecting movement thereof between said posi tions.

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of a slip flask embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a View taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing the lower edge of the cope with the sand strip carried thereon;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section through one wall of the slip flask showing the mold and pattern plate in position with the sand strip inserted;

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3 showing the position of the parts when the cope and the upper half of the mold is returned to its position on the drag;

Fig. 5- is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1, and

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

The invention contemplates a slip flask of the type having a cope, such as shown at l, and a drag 8 between which a pattern plate designated generally by the numeral 9 is adapted to be inserted and within which the usual molding sand is packed to produce cope and drag mold portions II and I2, respectively, in accordance with the usual foundry practice. Ears l3 and M are attached to opposite sides of the cope and carry bearing members l5 and I6 which receive pins H and [8 attached to opposite sides of the drag, as shown at IS, the pins and ears serving to maintain the cope and drag in alignment and permit removalof the cope from the drag in the usual manner.

In this instance, the upper and lower edges of the drag are provided with metal strips 2| and 22 and the upper edge of the cope is provided with a strip 23, the strips 2|, 22 and 23 extending completely around the flask and being attached thereto by means of screws, as shown at 24.

Referring now more particularly to' Fig. 2, 5 a sand strip composed of two sections designated 1936, Serial No. 69,091

25 and 26 is positioned on the lower edge of the cope, each of these sections extending between diagonal opposite corners of the cope and along the lower edge thereof so that each section consists of two legs 21 and 28 joined together at one extremity to form a right angle. An important feature of the invention is the cross-sectional shape of the sand strip. Directing attention to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be observed that this consists of a solid piece of metal having its inner edgebeveled outwardly toward the upper surface, as shown at 29. The lower surface of the strip is recessed, as shown at 3i, for the reception of retainer members designated generally by the numeral 32, the retainer members being spaced around the periphery of the cope, as best appears in Fig. 2. Attention is directed to the fact that the recess 3! is of slightly lesser depth than the thickness of the retainer members to provide a small amount of clearance between the forward end of the sand strip and the element directly below (in Fig. 3 the pattern plate 9 and in Fig. 4 the strip 2|). This arrangement permits the weight of the cope to be normally carried on the retainer members and permits the sand strip to be moved freely between its positions.

The retainer members 32 have a portion 33 seating against the outer surface of the cope and attached thereto by means of screws 34, or other suitable means. Below the portion 33 the retainers are bowed outwardly, as shown at 35, to permit movement of the sand strip outwardly beyond the outer surface of the side members of the flask, as shown in Fig. 4, and also to partially enclose the projecting sand strip and provide protection against mechanical damage to the outwardly extending edge of the sand strip. Thence, the retainers extend inwardly in parallel and spaced relation to the lower edge of the cope in the form of fingers 36, which are received in the recess 3| of the sand strip, as previously explained. It will be understood that the sand strip is movable between the positions shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and in the position shown in Fig. 3 serves to retain the cope half H of the mold. Therefore, the weight of this half of the mold is carried by the sand strip and transmitted to the fingers 36 in an obvious manner.

Corner plates 31 and 38 are attached to the lower edge of the cope at diagonally opposite corners and are of substantially the same thickness as the recessed portions of the sand strip. These plates are in the form of fight angled triangles, the hypotenuse of which forms abutments and guideways for the ends of the sand strip portions 25 and 28. In other words, the free ends of the legs 21 and 28 of each sand strip portion abuts against the edges of the plates 3? and 38, as shown at 39 and ll, and likewise the free ends of the sand strip portion 26 abut against these plates. It will be seen that since the sand strip portions 25 and 26 are unitary, the inner edges of the plates form parallel guideways for the angularly formed ends of the sand strip portions so that they guide the sand strip portions from the position in which the portion .25 is shown into a position corresponding to that occupied by the sand strip portion 26.

Each of the sand strip portions has a bracket 5'3 seated in the recess 3| of the sand strip portion and spanning the corner at which the legs thereof are joined, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 6, the brackets being of substantially the same thickness as the depth of the recess 3!. This bracket extends outwardly beyond the outer surface of the flask, as shown in Fig. 6, and has an ear :3 to which a lever 44 is attached by means of a pin 45. One end of the lever 44 is articulated on a bracket 46 attached to the outer surface of the flask by means of a pin 41. The opposite end of the lever 44 is flared, as shown at 23, for manual rotation of the lever about the pin 47. The brackets 42 each have parallelly disposed side edges 49 (Fig. 2) which bear against beveled edges 5i and 52 of the retainers 32 adjacent thereto on opposite sides so that movement of the bracket 42 is guided along the diagonal side of the flask. The lever 45 is slotted, as shown at 53, for the reception of a bolt and nut 5 (Fig. 6), the space relation being such that the head of the bolt 54 abuts against the edge of the bracket 46 to limit the rotation of the lever 44. Because of the slot the limiting position of the lever may be adjusted. This acts to limit the extent to which the sand strip may be inserted into the mold.

It will thus be seen that by rotation of the handles 48, the sand strip portions are inserted or Withdrawn from the interior of the flask, the plates 31 and 38 and the retainers adjacent opposite corners of the flask serving to guide the sand strip portions so that they move on a diagonal of the flask. Means are provided on the levers M for limiting the extent to which the sand strips are inserted and this limiting or stop means is adjustable. The retainers 32 function to retain the sand strips in position under the load occasioned by their use. Furthermore, the retainers serve to space the lower edge of the cope from the element normally positioned therebelow such as the upper edge of the drag or the pattern plate. The forward ends of the retainer fingers 36 serve to limit the withdrawal of the sand strips while the bowed portion 35 of the retainers serve to protect the outer edges of the sand strip when it occupies its withdrawn position. In this way, the retainers serve to protect the sand strip in its operation and to facilitate the movement thereof both as to direction and clearance. It will be noted that these retainers eiiectively carry the weight of the cope half of the mold without clamping the sand strip and the beveled edges of the retainer cooperate with the beveled edge ends of the sand strip portions to effectively guide the sand strip inwardly and outwardly when the operating lever is manipulated. The beveled inner edge 29 of the sand strip is of such shape that the strip is easily inserted and withdrawn and yet leaves but a comparatively small impresion in the sand of the mold.

While I have thus described and illustrated a specific embodiment of the invention, I am aware that numerous alterations and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited except as required by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims, in which- I claim:

1. The combination in a slip flask having a cope and a drag of a sand strip mechanism comprising a plurality of retainers extending inwardly along the drag edge of the cope and in spaced relation th reto for supporting the cope on the drag, a sand strip positioned in substantial part in the space between said retainers and the edge of the cope the marginal portion of the strip adjacent the inner edge being of a thickness slightly less than the combined thickness of the retainers and the remainder of the strip whereby to substantially fill the space between the cope and the drag, and manually operable means for moving the sand strips.

2. The combination with a slip flask having a cope and a drag of a sand strip mechanism comprising a plurality of spaced retaining fingers attached to the side of the cope extending inwardly along the drag edge of the cope and in spaced relation thereto, a sand strip positioned in the space between said retainers and the edge of the cope, said strip comprising two portions each extending along two sides of the cope, the two portions meeting at diagonally opposed corners of the cope, manually operable means located at the intermediate corners for moving said strip portions in and out along the edge of the cope on the diagonal connecting said intermediate corners, and means on said strip portions complemental to some of said retaining fingers for guiding said portions in said movements.

3. The combination with a slip flask having a cope and a drag of sand strip mechanism comprising a plurality of annularly spaced retaining fingers attached to the side of the cope extending inwardly along the drag edge of the cope and in spaced relation thereto adapted to support the cope on the drag, a sand strip positioned in part in the space between said retainers and the edge of the cope, the marginal portion of the strip adjacent the inner edge being of a thickness slightly less than the combined thickness of the retainers and the remainder of the strip whereby to substantially fill the space between the cope and the drag said strip comprising two portions each extending along two sides of the cope, the two portions meeting at diagonally opposed corners of the cope, the ends of said portions being parallel with a diagonal connecting intermediate corners, manually operable means located at the intermediate corners for moving said portions in and out along the edge of the cope, and means attached to the edge of the cope at the corners complemental to said ends for guiding the movement of said strip portions, the strip having means at the intermediate corners for engaging adjacent retaining fingers to guide the movement of the strip.

4. The combination with a slip flask having a cope and a drag of a sand strip mechanism comprising a sand strip portion extending along the drag edge of the cope between diagonally opposite corners, said portions having an inner edge sloping outwardly from bottom to top for insertion into the sand of a mold, and having a lower surface recessed to a line adjacent the inner edge thereof to provide an inner marginal portion of greater thickness than the remainder of the strip, retainers attached to the outer surface of said cope, said retainers extending into said recess to support the strip portions for movement along the edge of the cope between inserted and withdrawn positions, platespositioned in the recess of said strip portions abutting said retainers to guide the movement of said portions, and lever means on the cope acting on said plates to move said strip portions between said positions.

5. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein adjustable stop means are provided for limiting the movement of said lever and the amount of insertion of said strip portions.

6. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein the depth of said recess is slightly less than the thickness of said retainers whereby to provide clearance between the inner edge of said strip portions and the upper edge of the drag.

7. The combination with a slip flask of the type having a cope and a drag, of a sand strip comprising a strip of solid metal wherein the inner marginal portion is of greater thickness than the remainder of the strip, the strip having an inner edge sloping outwardly from bottom to top for insertion into the sand of a mold and having a recess on the lower surface thereof adjacent the opposite edge for the reception of retaining means.

8. The combination in a slip flask having a cope and a drag, of a sand strip mechanism comprising sand strip portions extending along the drag edge of the cope between diagonally opposite corners and supported for movement diagonally along the edge of the cope between inserted and withdrawn positions, laterally projecting ears on the sand strips adjacent the corners thereof, brackets attached to the side of the cope adjacent the corners thereof and in a horizontal plane spaced from the horizontal plane of said ears, the brackets and ears being out of vertical alignment, a lever articulated at their ends on said brackets for rotation on a vertical axis and a vertically disposed pivotal connection between said ears and an intermediate point on said levers whereby said strips are moved between said positions upon rotation of said levers, one of said positions being determined by the amount of clearance in said pivotal connections.

WILLIAM J. SPENSLEY. 

